Choose Seasonal Colors

Joann, a professional designer, who had her wedding on a vineyard in California last fall suggested using seasonal colors as a way to enhance decor (and save money).

"My theme colors were blood orange, dark red and brown. Because we got married in September, and we knew the vineyard was turning into those colors, we picked that combination to accent the surroundings. It's a good tip to consider if you dont have a specific color that you must have, and you dont want to spend/decorate too much on creating a whole new color palette against the existing environment."

Image from Jewelry by Cheryl

Kids and Cameras Don't Mix

Photo Credit: Minnpost.com

Patricia wrote in sharing an important wedding lesson - if you plan to have cameras for guests to use - don't let the kids do all the picture taking!

"Children should be supervised in using the cameras or else they take pictures that you can not use. It is hard in a wedding situation as everyone is having a good time and not really paying attention to what the children are doing or the amount of photos they are taking. We had 2-3 cameras [full of pictures taken by kids] that seemed a little wasteful."

So that kids can still get involved, she suggests couples "just single out 1 camera just for the kids" and put an adult in charge of making sure they each get a turn.

Be Yourself

Photo by Heidi Huber / California

Photo by Antonis Giannelis / Greece

I found these photographs on Divine Caroline as part of their photo contest "More Wedding Photos We'll All Remember." (Definitely worth looking through the entire collection!). I wanted to share them because I think they illustrate an important point - you may be dressed up, you may be surrounded by everyone you ever knew, but you will still be you and your spouse will still be your spouse so DON'T WORRY! Try to relax, enjoy your special day and remember that it is just a big party. Have fun and let your personalities shine. Don't sweat the small stuff. If something goes wrong, just fix it. If you forget your line, smile and ask the officiant to repeat it (or look at your hand). If your cake falls over in transit, have a friend run out and buy your favorite childhood snacks for everyone. Your wedding may not be perfect. Life isn't perfect. You two can weather any storm - that is why you are getting married!